After its release in 2009, The Beautiful Tree drew
widespread praise. The book tells the remarkable story of author
James Tooley’s travels from Africa to China, and of the children,
parents, teachers, and others who showed him how the poor are
building their own schools and learning to save themselves.
Publishers Weekly declared it “a moving account of how
poor parents struggle against great odds to provide a rich
educational experience to their children.” Writing in The
Claremont Review of Books, John Blundell called it “a
masterpiece.”

In conjunction with the release of the book’s paperback
edition, James Tooley will discuss the extraordinary changes in
educating the poor that have occurred since The Beautiful
Tree was published, as well as his experiences as a cofounder
of both Omega Schools, a chain of low-cost private schools in
Ghana, and Empathy Learning Systems, an educational service company
that runs a chain of inexpensive private schools in Hyderabad,
India.

We hope that you will join us to hear James Tooley discuss what’s
going right in some of the world’s poorest nations and
communities. The entrepreneurial spirit, Tooley makes clear, and
the love of parents for their children, can be found in every
corner of the globe.